John: Eh, Lao Wang, long time no see. You seem to have put on a lot of weight.王：你好，约翰。好久没见啦!你来北京几年了听说别人都管你叫“有中国特色的老外”，这是怎么回事呀John: It’s been five years since I came to work here. People like me have become absorbed into local life. Our Chinese friends call us "foreigners with Chinese characteristics".王：刚才你叫我的时候，先喊了一声“哎”，这就很有中国特色。John: Well, it just came out. You know, whenever I feel exhausted from the Beijing heat and pressure of work, I often let out a loud ai-yoh, to express my stressful feeling at the time. The Chinese staff were first so impressed and then got used to it.王：那除了这些，你还学会了什么其他地道的中国交流方式John: We westerners are taught not to ask personal questions like, "How old are you" "How much do you earn" or "Are you married" But now we ask these questions freely and gaily.王：大家出去吃饭的时候，你们老外也都抢着买单吗John: Right. We never go Dutch. Why should we if all our Chinese friends around us never do so We also know that we don’t need to tip，which is common in the west. Think of the numerous times one eats out in China, it’s a substantial saving.王：听说你们买东西特别会讨价还价，比我们中国人还厉害。John: We will bargain everywhere and with anything we buy. Some of us even do so in supermarket without feeling embarrassed.王：你还挺入乡随俗的。John: Even if I love Chinese culture so much, there is one place I draw the line. I refuse to sit on a park bench, roll up my trouser legs to expose pale knees and then roll up my shirt to expose my stomach. I know this is a way some locals cool down on these hot, humid summer days. but I guess this is something I will not follow.